This disclosure is related to poly(cyclohexylethylene)-polyacrylate block copolymers, methods of manufacture thereof and to articles comprising the same. In particular, this disclosure is related to poly(cyclohexylethylene-polyacrylate block copolymers used for improved nano lithography patterning.
Block copolymers form self-assembled nanostructures in order to reduce the free energy of the system. Nanostructures are those having average largest widths or thicknesses of less than 100 nanometers. This self-assembly produces periodic structures as a result of the reduction in free energy. The periodic structures can be in the form of domains, lamellae or cylinders. Because of these structures, thin films of block copolymers provide spatial chemical contrast at the nanometer-scale and, therefore, they have been used as an alternative low-cost nano-patterning material for generating periodic nanoscale structures. While these block copolymer films can provide contrast at the nanometer scale, it is however often very difficult to produce copolymer films that can display periodicity at less than 20 nanometers. Modern electronic devices often utilize structures that have a periodicity of less than 20 nanometers and it is therefore desirable to produce copolymers that can easily display structures that have average largest widths or thicknesses of less than 20 nanometers, while at the same time displaying a periodicity of less than 20 nanometers.
Many attempts have been made to develop copolymers that have average largest widths or thicknesses of less than 20 nanometers, while at the same time displaying a periodicity of less than 20 nanometers. The following discussion details some of the attempts that have been made to accomplish this.
FIGS. 1A and 1B depict examples of lamella forming block copolymers that are disposed upon a substrate. The block copolymer comprises a block A and a block B that are reactively bonded to each other and that are immiscible with each other. The alignment of lamellae domains can be either parallel (FIG. 1A) or perpendicular (FIG. 1B) to the surface of a substrate surface upon which they are disposed. The perpendicularly oriented lamellae provide nanoscale line patterns, while there is no surface pattern created by parallel oriented lamellae.
Where lamellae form parallel to the plane of the substrate, one lamellar phase forms a first layer at the surface of the substrate (in the x-y plane of the substrate), and another lamellar phase forms an overlying parallel layer on the first layer, so that no lateral patterns of microdomains and no lateral chemical contrast form when viewing the film along the perpendicular (z) axis. When lamellae form perpendicular to the surface, the perpendicularly oriented lamellae provide nanoscale line patterns. Therefore, to form a useful pattern, control of the orientation of the self-assembled microdomains in the block copolymer is desirable.
The block copolymer is annealed with heat (in the presence of an optional solvent), which allows for microphase separation of the polymer blocks A and B at a temperature above the glass transition temperature and below the order to disorder transition temperature. The annealed film can then be further developed by a suitable method such as immersion in a solvent/developer or by reactive ion etching which preferentially removes one polymer block and not the other to reveal a pattern that is commensurate with the positioning of one of the blocks in the copolymer. While this method generates self-assembled films with a uniform spacing, it has not proved useful in continuously and uniformly generating self-assembled films having domain sizes of less than 20 nanometers with a periodicity of less than 20 nanometers.